Viscous Flow Along a Flat Plate Moving at High Supersonic Speeds

By the distortion of coordinates, it is shown that, in the case of supersonic viscous flow past a flat plate, the boundary-layer and simple wave theories can be combined to give a complete representation of the velocity and pressure fields. Consistent first-order solutions are considered. An expression for the in duced pressure on the plate, correct to the second order, is obtained. At high Mach Numbers the important parameter satisfies the hypersonic similarity law; and for arbitrary Mach and Reynolds Numbers and for different gases, the theoretical curve correlates closely the experimental data. Asymptotic shock curve and skin-friction coefficient are also deduced, but the experimental verifications are yet to be made.